Archive for the ‘Products’ Category

Comments Off on Card Wars returns: Play your way to high scores, discounts and more

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Throwing angsty avians wasn’t good enough. Smashing sugary sweets just didn’t satisfy. You didn’t want to jump doodles, cut ropes or run from temples anymore. And you had no patience for all those different war games.

You’re ready to throw the heck out of some cards.

After a steady stream of requests, you kept craving your fix of card throwing in Ellusionist’s Card Wars. The addictive game was part of last year’s Christmas promotion, where purchases got you 1UPs, and high scores led to prizes, discounts and more. And we’re happy to help you cure your itch with an updated app.

Needing an escape from creating some of the world’s most amazing magic, Team E has headed to the rooftops to blow off some steam. It’s your job to get them back to work, and the only weapon that gets them back to making magic is the new deck of Sleepers in your hand.

How are you going to tackle this? Will you burn through your deck, trying to tag as many as you can? Will you milk the clock, waiting for powerups? Will you hone your skill and save your shots for the high-value targets, such as the elusive Brad-ninja? It’s all up to you, now.

Download the app for iPhone and iPad here. Claim your high score and earn some discounts. This is Card Wars, and you are a fighter.

Magic and style go hand in hand.

Especially since the start of this new era of street and close-up magic, performers have not been content to wear the tried and true tux-and-tails type of outfit. They instead incorporated parts of their own sense of style into their presentation. David Blaine wore T-shirts in “Street Magic” for a reason: He knew he was going to perform for people in public places, and needed to dress appropriately.

Here’s the best part: Our style can be incorporated into our magic. How many of us say we’re just card guys? How many of us think that the only way to express our magic is through a deck of playing cards?

The best of today’s magicians don’t think that way.

Production director Peter McKinnon didn’t think that way. He kept a leather notebook filled with ideas that he would perform regularly. And he didn’t stick to cards. He used coins, gimmicks and much more for his performances.

Some of those ideas were published for the first time to the magic community in Lock Stock & Riot. The six-routine project includes a tie production from the act of taking off a hat (Suit Up) and an intensely visual ring disappearance (Pantheon). Even the card work in Lock Stock & Riot has a wide range, from a pure flourish in Breakdown to a beautiful piece of magic in Pandora.

Lock Stock & Riot reveals P:M at some of his creative best, because he looked around at the things that inspired him and gave them new magical meaning. These are ideas inspired by the things around him, and they likely would have stayed in his notebook if it hadn’t been for prodding from Team E. The video, in addition to teaching six incredible routines, teaches that everything about you can inspire something your spectators will love. What do you see? And what can you do with it?

Comments Off on FOUR POINTS: Reasons why teaching the ACR took a full video

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Despite the amount of material we’ve released over an almost 15-year period, our older material still draws attention, and none more so than Crash Course 2. The video teaching the ambitious card routine (ACR) has been one of our best-reviewed videos because it features Brad’s teaching style at its best, and it’s packed full like a Southern bell’s suitcase with sleights, moves and ideas.

Released in 2003, it marked a departure from Crash Course 1, which taught several stand-alone routines from beginning to end. With a concept of teaching the ACR, it taught so much more than a routine — it taught how to make OUR OWN routines. The ACR is a classic of magic: It was a specific variation of that trick that Dai Vernon used to fool Houdini. It can be done myriad ways with a borrowed deck of cards. Every card worker has their take on it, and usually relies on some form of it as their go-to trick.

That means there’s no one way to teach an ACR. There are multiple ways, and that’s exactly the approach Brad Christian took with the video. And that approach makes Crash Course 2.

Performances

Crash Course 2 offers some of the best examples of learning by watching. The video was PACKED with performances of the effects taught. It gave watchers a chance to see exactly how the sleights played to real people, and how some performances don’t exactly go as planned, but still look magical. We also got to see so many great reactions, from the kid with the “Jackass” shirt to the girls Nate Staniforth performed for.

Utility

At its core, Crash Course 2 is a video packed with controls — a lot of different ways to accomplish the same thing. How many different ways do we REALLY need to know how to get a card to a certain position? The serious answer is simple: A LOT. For many, Crash Course 2 was a first toolbox, or arsenal. It gave magicians many options of accomplishing a certain task, and that freed up creativity.

Versatility

The moves taught in Crash Course 2 go way beyond one-hit wonders. Many of those moves can be adapted for other purposes. Take the push-off double lift, for instance: It works at either the front of a trick to show a card going somewhere it’s really not, or it can be used at the end of a trick to reveal what a card really isn’t. By learning all the different uses for a sleight, the video taught a powerful lesson about using sleights in different ways.

Ownership

This is probably the most important point: The other three points basically give magicians the power to create their own routines based on their performance character. David Blaine got many interested in magic, but one thing the video drives home is that people don’t want to see magic tricks performed — they want to see a GREAT MAGICIAN performing magic. Learning a variety of sleights and different ways to use them lets magicians take ownership of their own magic, and that’s the best lesson of all.

FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com.

Comments Off on Shoot like Kings: Instagram users make incredible art with latest deck

Tuesday, October 21st, 2014

It’s not long now. The Kings deck, a collaboration between Daniel Madison and Peter McKinnon, will soon be available to Black Club members, and then the rest of the world.

But a handful of people, who are close friends and associates with DM and p:m, have already had some quality time with the Kings. And the artistic work they have posted to Instagram is simply breath-taking.

Comments Off on Almost gone for good: Last of the Gold Arcane decks won’t be hoarded

Sunday, July 20th, 2014

Not everything lasts forever. One of the most treasured decks of cards on the market is about to be gone for good.

“Hunger for gold is made greater as more gold is acquired.” Prudentius

There’s nothing like gold. The precious metal found in nature and forged in fire has become a symbol of beauty, desire, excellence, power and wealth. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been lost in pursuit of it. Part currency, part rarity, gold has been formed into all sorts of things, from coins to chandeliers. It is the ultimate allegory in stories and philosophy. The thirst for gold is unquenchable; the more we have, the more we want.

In 2010, a few months after the release of the Arcane deck, we teased our fans with a glint of gold on a playing card. Soon after, we released the Gold Arcane deck out into the wild.

The creation of the deck was just as much a challenge as its predecessor. While printing the original black Arcane in 2009, decks and decks were destroyed because the quality and color wasn’t exactly right. The incredible level of detail on the Arcane deck challenged the staff at U.S. Playing Card Co., who rose to it and printed what they call one of the most stunning decks they had ever printed.

There was only one way to up the ante: Gold ink.

We added gold details to the back and slathered the indicies and the pips of the hearts and diamonds of the faces with gold, using metallic ink. The result was one of the most stunning decks ever printed by USPCC — the first casino-grade deck ever printed with such a look. Because gold should be a treasure, we had only 5,000 decks printed. After that, the printing plates were destroyed.

“Mystery is a resource, like coal or gold, and its preservation is a fine thing.” Tim Cahill

Since then, the Gold Arcane deck has been one of the most sought-after decks of playing cards in this new era of custom playing card creation. A quick scan through ebay.com reveals that it’s hard to find one for less than $100. But the deck has never been up for regular sale at Ellusionist. For a while, it was the subject of a contest series on our Facebook page: A lucky winner on Gold Wednesday would claim one for themselves. The deck was also a prize for other contests, and was given away through other promotions.

Those days are nearing an end. Our supply of Gold Arcane decks has been reduced to less than 500. But unlike others, we don’t plan on hoarding our gold.

Your last chance to secure a Gold Arcane deck from Ellusionist is coming soon…

Get the buzz first

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=disWuW3_-24 Do not get me wrong, I thoroughly love the idea of this deck I just do not like the finish or other parts of the handling of this deck. The design is killer, but the finish is not my style.

There are always moments where the forums change we we see new faces. I love meeting new people and talking about magic so I thought this thread would be a great "opener" so we know you. Sometimes when we respond to threads like "which should I do." We respond with our personal goals in mind, […]

I was watching a Eugene Burger live lecture, and thought it amusing when he described his character as "Naughty Santa Claus." It got me thinking about what my character is. I think I would describe it as "Criminal Mastermind." What about you all?

At Ellusionist, we have one goal: to give you the power to perform magic beyond belief. We want to make you the life of any party. We want to make you into a performer. Composed of 12 individuals, we barely sleep, and we will do anything necessary to bring you the best magic, the best talent, the best training and playing cards possible.

We manufacture many of our own magic supplies, tricks, effects, and custom playing cards. We strive to create the very best magical products the world has ever seen. We work with the United States Playing Card co and have produced 14 lines of playing card decks that are repeatedly acclaimed by top industry pros and magic enthusiasts all over the world.